Review: Rumor Has It by Caterina Campbell
Rating 3.5/5 Stars
Series: Jock Star Book #1 (Book 1 of a Duet)
Tropes: Cliffhanger, Sports, Baseball, Instant connection, college age, small town,
PoP: 44%
This book was fresh take on a baseball romance. It starts off with the unexpected and you are transported to the small sleepy beach town of Milagro, CA.
Brenna Sloan is a complex character that is a bit of a quagmire, honestly. She is engaging, relatable and as a reader you can connect with her on so many levels. At times she is frustrating and has such a narrow scope of herself and the world around her. As the reader you are angry with her and want to shake her, her choices are sometimes dictated by misplaced loyalties.
Her twin sister, Bristol, is practically her opposite in every way and is one character that is working against the characters in such a way that you are angry with her. Bristol while feisty for those she loves but at a cost to those she loves. Bristol and Brenna have had an unconventional childhood. But this is Brenna’s story, and this is some of the problem at times the main character is fighting against her twin to be the star in her own book. Brenna has a weakness as a caretaker. She has been the scapegoat Bristol.
The hero in the book is Van, Vance Hatfield. He is very much the sexy, swoony leading man you want to see in romance. Van also has a quiet elegance about him. But Van is nor perfect, he is hiding from Brenna that he’s a famous baseball player who’s laying low in Milagro Beach from his own scandal.
Van and Brenna’s attraction is palatable and immediately, despite that Brenna is not use to the attention. You do feel like these two are fated to be forever, if they could just get others out of their relationship and out of their own way, they would totally have an HEA.
There is a whole cast of characters in this book that lead to some great moments. Uncle Rodney, who’s been like a father to the girls, their mother who hasn’t been a bright shining light when it comes to healthy boundaries and relationships.
Overall, for a debut novel this is a great story that is well edited. There are a lot of emotions in this story and at times your heart is breaking along with the characters. At times the plot does feel a slow but pacing issues are something you come to expected from debut novel. The author is building a world and a lot of page time is given to creating the world around Jock Magazine. The character’s relatable and could be so many of us. I am intrigued by this story and cannot wait for book 2 of the duet in hopes that Brenna and Van get their HEA.
